How effective are life jackets in rapidly flowing deep flood waters?

[spankmonkey@lemmy.world]

Also getting caught in debris and being pulled under harder than the life jacket lifts you up.

Life jacket still better than no jacket!

[facedeer@fedia.io]

Indeed. I was in a thread on Reddit about exactly this subject, and it was truly bizarre how adamant a lot of people were about how you should not having a life jacket. They were pointing out all these things - you could get trapped inside your house, it doesn't save you from being hit by debris, it doesn't protect you against diseases that are in the water.

Yeah, those are all bad things. Don't jump into floodwaters for fun! Stay out of the flood water if you can at all possibly manage it. But if I'm in a place where I might end up falling into floodwaters anyway, it's far far better to have a life vest on than to not have it on.

[vanth@reddthat.com]

Life jackets also get caught on things. So if it's wide open and free from anything to snag on, great, enjoy the terrifying not-lazy river ride. If there are things to snag on, like I assume the Texas flash floods, then a lifejacket would also be a liability.

I've done some downriver rapids canoe/kayak stuff, by no means an expert nor even knowledgeable hobbyist. On a certain river trip, fast-flowing with lots of submerged trees, they had us drill unclipping jackets and wriggling out of them while submerged.

[neidu3@sh.itjust.works]

As someone who works on ships, it's truly baffling how many "but what if...!? Life jacket bad!" you see in the intertubes.

I have one of these auto-inflaters and I always wear it on deck. Yes, the color will make me more visible to sharks and a myriad of other theoretical hazards, but I still would prefer not to drown.

One important note: if you for some reason need to wear BOTH an inflatable life jacket and a climbing harness (which I sometimes need to do), make sure to put on the climbing harness first. The harness will not give way to an inflating life jacket, but your chest and ability to breathe will.

[yaksdc@sh.itjust.works]

Another important design feature is that a properly worn life jacket will keep your face out of the water if you were to lose consciousness while wearing it.

[iww4@lemmy.zip]

The will work in that environment if you have the right type.

[themeatbridge@lemmy.world]

As I understand it, rapid flood waters will likely crush you to death with debris, or you'll get stuck underwater. A vest won't save you from either of those.

But if you have one, wear it. Swimming ability won't help you if you're unconscious or exhausted. Ideally, you stay out of the water, but if you can't, you'll be better off with a life jacket on.

[ioughttamow@fedia.io]

If the water conditions are so bad you would consider a life jacket a liability, you’re just fucked. The debris your jacket could get caught on is the stuff that’ll knock you insensate, and then you drown

[rc__buggy@sh.itjust.works]

You want a Type-1, made to keep an unconscious adult on their back with their head out of the water for an extended period of time. I use type 3 when I canoe on the lake. I'm not a whitewater enthusiast. The type 1 are made for offshore shit where the person might be knocked out when they fall off the boat.

But yeah, in a flash flood it's only going to keep you on top. Probably get smashed by a tree or a car or something. Best to stay out of floodwater.

edit: but better a type 3 or even a ring than nothing. If I was in a hurricane or flash flood situation I'd rather have a type 1

[mouselemming@sh.itjust.works]

A life jacket can't effectively protect you against debris, but it can help keep you from drowning from exhaustion as you try to dodge and seek an escape. And if you do die anyway, it could help your body be found, for the sake of those who mourn you.

[mouselemming@sh.itjust.works]

A life jacket can't effectively protect you against debris, but it can help keep you from drowning from exhaustion as you try to dodge and seek an escape. And if you do die anyway, it could help your body be found, for the sake of those who mourn you.

Also: if it's physically possible for you, please learn to swim.

[snoons@lemmy.ca]

"It's not that the water is flowing, it's hwat the water brings with it.

[over_clox@lemmy.world]

Thank you and everyone else for all the informative comments!

Back in 2014, I actually did kinda force myself to learn to swim, once, in a deep river with a current. I wasn't all that great at swimming, but I managed to resurface and start swimming towards the shore before someone else swam out to help me.

I think I could have managed to swim to shore myself, but at a struggle as it was my first time ever trying to swim. Regardless, at least I have one experience under my belt.

[popekingjoe@lemmy.world]

"If the water is carrying a Volvo, it doesn't matter how many crunches you did that day."

[mouselemming@sh.itjust.works]

I'm impressed with your initiative! But maybe practice some more, in a safer place, with someone who can help you become more efficient at staying afloat and moving easily through the water.

[frostedtrailblazer@lemmy.zip]

A life jacket is what can help save you once you exhaust yourself fighting against a torrent of water. If you need to do something a bit reckless to save yourself or someone else, then it can help you catch your breath a bit and keep your head above water.

The thing is, if you are needing to rely on a lifejacket, the situation may already be a bit desperate. If you are able to get some kind of an early warning system, then that will go a lot farther at helping you get to safety. Getting a lifejacket could help make a difference if you are in a potential flood zone.

[allero@lemmy.today]

With all the care, I would strongly advise you not to go with "you must be in a survival situation to learn to swim" cliché.

Not only is it, well, dangerous, but it also doesn't teach you to swim properly either. If you just try to stay on the surface, you'll expend a ton of energy and can get water in your throat which will complicate things severely.

You should learn to stay on the surface by breathing only. Pick a place with still water (lake? calm sea? pool?) and learn to lay down on your spine without movement. Do it near the shore, of course. Just put your body in a star shape, legs and hands extended, and learn to breathe in a way that allows you to float still. Once you learn it, not only you have improved breathing technique helpful in swimming, but you can also take a rest on water anytime to restore without even having a jacket in the first place.

Then, knowing how to breathe to stay afloat, learn to swim. Now you can save a lot of energy because you don't need much movement to keep you afloat, and you can just swim in the direction you need

[ledgedrop@lemmy.zip]

If you're whitewater kayaking, it's not uncommon to have a knife accessible from your PFD.

It can be used to cut any ropes you might be tangled in or (worse case) cut the PFD.

In general, having a knife with you is useful in most emergency situations (and a throw rope, pin kit, plus knowledge of how to use them).

edit: Oops, this was supposed to be a response for the parent thread.

[lumisal@lemmy.world]

Idk, this guy might be fine taking on a Volvo.

And there's always adrenaline.

[popekingjoe@lemmy.world]

These silly comments were a reference to this bit.

I got my comment a bit wrong tho. Oh well.